BBC editorial rules spark accusations of anti-war bias

BBC journalists have been instructed to reflect anti-war opinion in their reporting of the impending war in Iraq, under guidelines issued by the corporation.

The controller of editorial policy, Stephen Whittle, has told staff that even once a war is under way, opposition voices should be given airspace, provoking concern over an anti-war bias at the BBC.

"We must reflect significant opposition in the UK (and elsewhere) to the military conflict and allow the arguments to be heard and tested. Those who speak and demonstrate against war are to be reported as part of the national and international reality," Mr Whittle said.

He also warned that the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" should be used with care, for fear of causing alarm.

"If we say they have been used, we should be absolutely certain of the fact. If their use is rumoured only, our reports must not be alarmist or excited. The possibility of their use is to be discussed calmly," Mr Whittle said.

BBC reporters have also been told to test the reliability of information from government press briefings, while the armed forces are to be referred to as "British troops" and not "our troops", because BBC reports are broadcast around the world.

But the Conservative culture spokesman, John Whittingdale, accused the BBC's management of allowing its own views on the war to affect coverage.

"People inside the BBC who are opposed to the conflict are imposing their own views," he told the Times.

"The BBC is our national broadcaster and it must make clear why we are asking British forces to risk their lives."

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Guardian today, Chris Cramer, the head of CNN International, has called on all sides in any conflict "to respect the safety and integrity of journalists in the field".

Mr Cramer stated that 65 journalists were killed in the course of their work last year while many others were injured, and warned that "a possible war in Iraq will put hundreds more journalists in the line of fire".

He described assaults on journalists as "not just personal tragedies".

"They damage democracy and erode the flow of news and information around the world," Mr Cramer said, adding that journalists and their places of work were "not acceptable targets".

Two Reuters journalists - a photographer and a cameraman - were injured yesterday morning while filming an Israeli raid on a Palestinian refugee camp, in retaliation for a suicide attack on a bus in the northern town of Haifa.

The international press watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres has called upon Israel's defence minister to launch an investigation into the wounding of the journalists.

A Reuters spokeswoman confirmed that all journalists employed by the organisation were trained to work in hostile environments, but added that it was a "very difficult and volatile situation".